Chương 57: No Ordinary Person

One by one, the signs hanging on the wall were taken down. When the braised pork ribs were removed, Aunt Zhao announced that all the dishes for the day were sold out. The later customers sighed and had to find another place to eat. All the dishes Zhou Yan had prepared for the day were sold out, including the twenty crucian carp that Boss Gao had brought later. There were some scraps left from the braised beef, and the fish Old Zhou had 'caught' was made into crucian carp with mint.

They also stir-fried some cabbage with lard—that was their dinner.

"Business was really good today. All the dishes we prepared were sold out, and the customers all said it was good," Aunt Zhao said happily, scooping a ladle of beef offal and beef tendon into Zhou Momo's bowl.

"We've been open for over three months, and I've never seen so many customers," Zhou Miao remarked with some emotion. Just half a month ago, they would never have imagined that the restaurant would have such booming business. Back then, the shop barely saw a single customer a day. Zhou Yan sat at the door every day, frowning and irritable, easily exploding at the slightest provocation. Even Zhou Momo was afraid to approach him.

Now, the shop's business is getting better every day, and the young man is back to his old self, cheerful and talkative. The atmosphere at home has improved.

"Today's turnover should have exceeded two hundred, which should be the peak for the next period," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Exceeded two hundred!" Aunt Zhao was a little surprised. She knew that today's business was much better than yesterday, but she didn't expect it to exceed two hundred. Selling two hundred a day, even if you only make half, that's still one hundred yuan! This money is being earned too fast!

"Many customers came today just for the fun of it. Most workers are lucky if they can eat out once or twice a month. But if we build up a reputation, they'll think of our shop when they have guests at home. It's a steady stream of income, and the money will be earned slowly," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

He also hoped that the factory manager's sales would have a long-tail effect, but if the business wanted to continue to break through, they needed to have more best-selling items or offer some cheaper dishes to increase customer traffic. Each dish costs one yuan, which raises the average cost per person but also turns away many customers.

"Yes, we'll earn it slowly," Aunt Zhao nodded with a smile. After dinner, Zhou Yan saw his parents off, locked the door, and then went for a run along the river. Halfway there, he saw a familiar figure jogging and quickened his pace to catch up, smiling as he said, "Uncle Lin, you're out exercising too?" Lin Zhiqiang was wearing a blue vest, a towel around his neck, and was sweating profusely.

"Little Zhou," Lin Zhiqiang looked at Zhou Yan and smiled, "I haven't exercised in a while, so I came out for a run tonight, otherwise your Aunt Meng always complains about my big belly."

"You're not fat," Zhou Yan glanced at Lin Zhiqiang. He was actually quite tall and thin, just with a slightly protruding belly; who doesn't have a beer belly in middle age? Lin Zhiqiang shook his head, looking at Zhou Yan, who was wearing a white vest and had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and sighed, "You young people have such good figures. I used to have six-pack abs, but now they've all come together." Zhou Yan didn't expect Lin Zhiqiang to be so humorous, and laughed, "Then let's run together.

Let's go around to the stone bridge and come back, it's about five kilometers."

"Okay, I'm a slow runner, I need to get used to it first. Why don't you go first?"

"It's okay, we can chat while we run, it'll be easier."

"Sure." Lin Zhiqiang nodded with a smile, and after running a few steps, he asked with a smile, "Have you written to Xia Yao?"

"Huh?"

"She hasn't written to you either?"

"I haven't received it yet."

"Do you want her address?"

"Um, Uncle Lin..." Zhou Yan and Lin Zhiqiang ran a lap of five kilometers, chatting all the way, from anecdotes about the textile factory to national policies and international disputes, talking about everything under the sun. Lin Zhiqiang attended university in Beijing, studied abroad, worked as a sent-down youth in the countryside, and spent two years in Shanghai. He wasn't just a pure tech geek; he was well-traveled, knowledgeable, and a great conversationalist.

Zhou Yan, having experienced the information explosion of the modern world and seen much of it on Douyin (TikTok), while not having a deep understanding of the subject, could still engage in any conversation. After this run, Lin Zhiqiang considered him a close friend.

"Little Zhou, your predictions about the Soviet Union's trajectory are really interesting, they coincide with my own! Let's continue our discussion while we run tomorrow." At the entrance of the residential compound, Lin Zhiqiang, still eager to continue, made plans with Zhou Yan to run together again the next day. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Okay, let's run together again at this time tomorrow." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile and continued running towards the restaurant. He had also benefited greatly from chatting with Lin Zhiqiang. He only had a vague understanding of this era, having learned about its general trajectory from textbooks, but those terms were too broad; as a food blogger, it was difficult for him to extract any usable information from them.

Lin Zhiqiang was highly educated; his understanding of current developments and the opportunities he saw were remarkably forward-thinking, far surpassing Zhou Yan's vision. He mentioned that with reform and opening up, the country was strongly supporting the development of the individual and private economy, and special economic zones like Shenzhen were under construction. If one could seize this opportunity, they might become a trendsetter.

As he spoke, Zhou Yan saw the anticipation and light in his eyes and immediately felt that Uncle Lin was no ordinary person; this small textile factory could hardly contain his ambitions. Lin Zhiqiang returned home lightly, grabbed a towel and washbasin, and prepared to take a bath.

"Did you find money while running? You seem so happy," Meng Anhe asked, coming out of the study with a ruler in hand, looking at the beaming Lin Zhiqiang. In the study behind her, the Lin brothers, Jingxing and Bingwen, were wincing and blowing on each other's hands to relieve the pain.

"It's more interesting than finding money," Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile.

"I ran into Zhou Yan while jogging. He was jogging too, and we ran a lap of five kilometers together, chatting along the way. His knowledge is so broad; he knows everything, and his views on future development are very forward-thinking. He's definitely not someone to be underestimated. This little town of Suji can't hold him back."

"I'm finding him more and more appealing," Meng Anhe said with a smile, pressing the basin down from his hand.

"Go take a shower later; if you get hot from running and then rinse with cold water, you'll get sick."

"It's rare to see young people with this kind of insight and vision. Zhao Dong is far inferior to him. I think he could make a name for himself even if he opened a restaurant," Lin Zhiqiang remarked.

"I believe that," Meng Anhe nodded, smiling at him.

"But why did you suddenly decide to go for a run?"

"Just eating beef brisket isn't enough; exercise is the key. You have to do both," Lin Zhiqiang said seriously. The latest novel is first published on 69shu. com!... Zhou Yan returned to the restaurant and first recorded the accounts. Today's income reached 234. 6 yuan, indeed a new record.

Twenty more servings of braised beef with bamboo shoots were sold, thirty servings each of braised beef with bamboo shoots and stir-fried beef with double peppers were sold, twelve servings of braised pork ribs were sold, and thirty servings of crucian carp with mint were also sold. After deducting the cost of ingredients, the gross profit was approximately 118. 2 yuan. This was the first time the profit had exceeded 100 yuan after the turnover exceeded 100 yuan!

Counting the five-cent and ten-cent bills, Zhou Yan felt particularly at ease. This money was earned little by little, six-cent and one-yuan bills. His savings reached 262. 44 yuan, getting closer and closer to paying off all his debts. After showering, Zhou Yan didn't rush to bed. Instead, he took out a pen and paper to organize and record the information he had gained from Lin Zhiqiang that day. Aunt Zhao and Old Zhou were good friends, but they could only see as much as Su Ji.

He could learn a lot from Lin Zhiqiang. And if he got along well with Uncle Lin, maybe he could even mentor him someday when Uncle Lin actually went into business. Closing his diary and pulling the cord to turn off the light, the room went dark, and Zhou Yan's mind drifted to Xia Yao. She said she would write to him when she returned to school; had she mailed it?

Uncle Lin had given him his address while he was running today: the Department of Arts and Crafts at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, majoring in Interior Design. Should he write to her? Zhou Yan quickly dismissed the idea. What to write? He had never written a letter in either of his lives! Thinking about that was less important than figuring out how much stock he needed to get tomorrow, how many customers would be coming to eat, and whether he needed to adjust the quantities of different dishes.

Thinking about women would only slow down his earning pace. His mind raced, and then, suddenly, he fell asleep.... The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Comrade Zhou rode his bicycle out to buy groceries. (End of Chapter)